


What A Malfoy Wants

by DarkCorgi



Series: What a Malfoy Wants [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-01
Updated: 2005-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 21:24:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10050953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCorgi/pseuds/DarkCorgi
Summary: Anyone who's dealt with a Malfoy knows they get what they want.  One Shot.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling except Lily Malfoy, who's a figment of my imagination. I make no money from this, I'm just bored.  
Advertisement: Part of the Slash Advent Calendar 2004 at www.kardasi.com/Advent/2004/SAC-2004.htm  
Note: I may plan a sequel to this since my beta insists forty or so pages weren't enough.  
Beta: The wonder Magdelena, who readily slogs through my atrocious comma usage. 

 

The struggle against Voldemort ended a little over four years ago, and the losses on both sides had been heavy. Harry sighed, trudging through the late August rain as his mind started to list those lost. The Weasleys escaped with only the loss of one person. That death hit Harry the hardest since the person was Hermione. She and Ron had married the day after their schooling at Hogwarts had finished. Several months later she was killed defending a house full of children. She managed to get the children to safety before the Death Eaters collapsed the building on top of her. It was in her memory that he changed career plans and took up the Defence Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts. It was her career choice before they left the shelter of their youth and when she left this world he choose to honour her by making sure those children she gave her life for would learn to defend themselves against those that walked solely in darkness. Harry knew that the majority of his fellow classmates fell during the war. Draco Malfoy was killed during the last battle, and his wife Pansy, formerly Parkinson, had disappeared without a trace, her body was never found. Out of all the students that entered Hogwarts with him the only ones left, besides him, were Ron, Neville, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, Susan Bones and Terry Boot. All the rest either fell due to Death Eater raids or in direct battle. Many of those who fought and died left children behind. He knew that the Malfoys had a daughter, but no one was able to tell him where the girl was. Actually not one single person was able to tell him the whereabouts of any of the children of the Death Eaters, which was why he was slogging through this rain with one of Fudge's toadies.

 

Harry threw the weight his fame gave him around and forced the Department of Child Services to give him a tour of all the orphanages. They thought they could get away with showing him only those brand new installations built at the very end of the war, but Harry knew they were going to try and hide something from him so he brought in his trump card; riding on his shoulder, hidden beneath his hair, was Rita Skeeter in her animagus form. Knowing the Ministry as well as he did, he made sure to do his homework before demanding his tour. He researched every facility in existence and only had to mark off one that had been destroyed during Voldemort's second rise. He found there were dozens of Ministry-run orphanages and he was determined to see them all today. The little weasel the Ministry forced upon him led him on a tame tour of five brand new orphanages. He pointed out the children belonging to various prominent families, who were among Voldemort's earlier victims in the second war, and those who belonged to those who visibly fought against the Death Eaters. All of the children were from well off families and a feeling of dread filled Harry when he noted the apparent wealth of those dwelling in those walls. When the oily man tried to convince him that Harry had seen every orphanage the Ministry oversaw, Harry pulled out his list and demanded to see all of them. 

 

The Ministry official did his best to dissuade Harry from going to those other orphanages, but Harry wasn't taking no for an answer. The man grudgingly took Harry to each one on his list and Harry noticed as they went from building to building that the conditions of the dwellings decreased relative to the social standing of the occupants. As he went from one building to another he began seeing the children of prominent Order members and then he began seeing those of the more obscure members, or those children that were of half-blood or Muggleborn lineages. Harry began seeing the children of Slytherin Alumni as they started hitting the more derelict buildings, and Harry's blood began to boil. After all not every Slytherin went over to Voldemort and no child deserved to live in these horrid conditions even if their parents were Death Eaters.

 

When they arrived at the very last of the orphanages on his list his jaw dropped. The building was only standing due to the structural spells used on all buildings in the wizarding world. What he could see of the front of the dwelling, if it could be called that given that he's seen better looking buildings in Knockturn Alley, looked as if it was ready to fall at any moment. The windows were broken, the door and window sills were rotting, the paint peeling, and there was a huge pile of refuse in the front garden. He didn't think the inside was going to be much better. He was right. The floors looked ready to give way at any moment, as did the stairs. The kitchen was a horror story that he didn't want to dwell too long on. How the children got anything hot to eat was a mystery, and the odds were that they didn't get much to eat, never mind hot food. When he entered the common room he stopped and stared in shock.

 

The children were huddled in small groups in the room and their clothes were in worse condition than his old hand-me-downs from Dudley. They were very silent and withdrawn as they conversed amongst themselves. They didn't notice Harry standing there observing them. The all looked like they hadn't had a decent meal for years and all his memories from those years with the Dursley's came crashing down on him. Something must have shown in his face for the oily little bastard that he'd been bullying all day fled the room. Harry struggled to keep his temper under wraps and once it was under lock and key he surveyed the huddled mass of miserable children. He recognized children that resembled the people he went to school with so much that he was hard-pressed not to react to them in the way he did to their parents. As he scanned the group he spotted someone who could either be Parkinson's sister or niece and a boy that could only be Marcus Flint's child, he had the former Slytherin chaser's teeth. There were several that he recognized the faces of, but didn't know the name of the older relatives. As he gazed sadly at the children his attention was caught by a flash of white blonde hair at the back of the room. The nearly white locks that were the tell tale mark of the Malfoys belonged to a petite girl, who looked to be about five years old and tried her damnedest to fade into the wood work.

 

Harry slowly made his way to the girl and as he did so the group of kids moved out of his path. The majority of them watched him warily as he made his way towards the blonde. The rest of the room's occupants wore looks split between fear and anger. Harry knelt in front of the girl, who watched him with large eyes that struggled to hide what she was feeling. He thought he saw some hope mingled with the obvious fear in those silvery eyes. He could tell she was ready to bolt at anything that could be construed as a threat.

 

"Hello, young lady." Harry greeted the young girl. "My name is Harry. Are you Draco and Pansy Malfoy's little girl?"

 

"Yes. I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Potter." The young girl said in a clear, bell-like voice. She was marvellously well spoken for such a young girl. She hesitated before asking a question and Harry was upset when he noticed the very visible look of fear taking control in her eyes. "Are you going to kill me now?"

 

Horror filled Harry as he stared at the girl in shock and when he glanced out of the corner of his eye he saw that every one of the children stood tensely around him. They looked like they were prepared to hear him say yes, but couldn't help the hope that poked out of their eyes that what ever it was they were told would prove false. His rage built into an inferno as the implications sank in.

 

"No, I'm not here to hurt anyone. I would never do that to someone who didn't do anything wrong." Harry said gently as he reached out to lightly touch the young Malfoy's shoulder. "I don't know who…" Harry stopped as the blonde flinched in pain as his hand touched her.

 

Harry gingerly pulled the over-sized, ragged grey robe off her shoulder and saw a huge bruise covering her entire shoulder. The small bit of her back that he could see showed what he could definitely identify as belt marks and what could be whip ones. He replaced the robe and turned to who he thought was the oldest of the children surrounding him and that person looked to be the boy he thought was Flint's.

 

"Mr. Flint," Harry smiled when the boy reacted in surprise to his correct identification, "are all of you subjected to this sort of treatment or is Ms. Malfoy the exception?" He asked the hard-faced boy.

 

"How do you know she didn't fall down the stairs?" The boy responded coldly, but he wasn't hardened enough to hide the glimmer of hope in the depths of his brown eyes.

 

"I know abuse when I see it and unless someone tells me what's going on here then I can't do anything about it."

 

"You had better or they'll punish us for talking to you." The boy stated in a tone exactly like his father's. "We all receive the same treatment. She's just treated worse because she's a Malfoy. The told every one of us that you'd come to kill us because we're Death Eaters." The boy mimicked the tones of Fudge and some of the fat pig's toadies.

 

"I wouldn't hurt a child and I know first hand what it's like to be hated because of my father's actions. I know better than that." Harry stated firmly, before turning to the slight blonde. "Weren’t there any cousins or other relatives to take you in?"

 

"No, sir. Everyone was dead or in too poor of health. My Uncle Severus has tried to take me away from here, but they won't let him. Now he's not allowed to visit." The young girl said in a soft voice.

 

"I certainly can't leave you here, young lady. You definitely need to see a mediwitch. Now will you tell me your name?"

 

"They call me bit…." Harry cut the girl off immediately.

 

"I don't want to know what they call you. I want to know what your mum and dad called you." Harry said gently.

 

"I'm not allo…" She started to say, but was cut of by a darker blonde-haired girl, who stood next to Flint.

 

"Her name's Lily. All the girls in my family are named after flowers or herbs." The pug-nosed girl answered for the young Malfoy.

 

"And you are?" Harry asked, though he thought the girl could be one of Pansy's sisters. 

 

"Violet Parkinson," she responded and confirmed Harry's guess. "My sister Rosemary starts Hogwarts in September. She's housed at another facility. You know that Pansy's dead and I think my sister Marigold is too."

 

"Thank you, Violet. I'll be in touch with you all as soon as I can." Harry told the group as a plan started to form in his mind. He was going to have to make a stop at the Burrow before returning early to Hogwarts. He made eye contact with every child in the room before continuing. "Remember one thing for me. You did nothing to deserve this. I know you didn't and I know it'll be a while before you believe that. I know it took me forever before it sank in. Any rational adult will tell you the same. Now if one of you would point me to the idiot in charge of this dump?"

 

The Flint boy, who's name was also Marcus, led him to the Matron's office and there he found the oily little git, who was his guide, with his head stuck in the fire talking heatedly with someone. The orphanage's Matron sat stiffly behind her desk with a fearful look on her face. She didn't notice Harry enter the room with Lily's hand firmly clasped in his.

 

"Excuse me." He spoke loudly and took pleasure in seeing the Matron leap in her seat with a screech and hearing the oily git's cries of pain when his head struck the mantle in surprise. Harry didn't bother to hide the malice-laden smirk plastered across his face.

 

"May I hhh… help you, Mr. Potter?" The Matron asked as she gave Lily a look of loathing.

 

"I'll be taking Lily here with me to Hogwarts. Her Godfather wishes to have her live there with him." Harry told the fat witch before him. A tiny corner of his mind wondered if the Potion Master's currently extra foul mood was due to his inability to retrieve his niece from the bureaucracy.

 

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Mr. Potter." Another voice answered before the Matron could; a very familiar one at that.

 

"Why not, Fudge?" Harry asked in an extremely cold voice.

 

"Severus Snape is a Death Eater and the Ministry will not allow him to take custody of another Death Eater's child. There's no way we will condone any of those who got away from justice to train the next generation of Death Eaters." Fudge replied in a tone one would use to address a three year old.

 

"Severus Snape was a spy and you know it. He paid for the folly of his youth for over twenty years. He is the child's legal guardian as per her parents' wills and she should have been placed in his care the moment the war was over." Harry said through gritted teeth and he heard the angry chittering of Skeeter's beetle form near his ear.

 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, it will not happen. She must remain here until an upstanding citizen is willing to adopt her." Fudge stated and Harry knew right then that he had an opening.

 

"Fine, I'll adopt her." Fudge was about to protest before Harry cut him off. "You're not going to tell me in front of witnesses that I'm not an 'upstanding citizen' are you?" He asked in a falsely sweet tone.

 

"They won't back you, Potter." Fudge replied in a condescending voice. 

 

"You think that Albus Dumbledore would allow me to leave Hogwarts with out an escort? Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not listening in." Harry smirked as Fudge's face went pale and he heard feet shuffling outside before a meow distracted him from his staring contest with the Minister of Magic.

 

The grey tabby rubbed against his legs before sitting on the ground and staring at the Minister. The tabby had square markings around its eyes and Fudge paled further as Harry fought back the urge to laugh at the man's gullibility. Harry noticed the wetness of the markings and also noticed that the cat was a male before it sat down at his feet. What Fudge didn't know wouldn't hurt him. If he thought the cat was Professor McGonagall then let him. Harry heard the front door open and then close a minute or two later. The children in the other room would definitely be a credit to Slytherin house when they eventually made it to Hogwarts. He knew they'd keep him very busy at night.

 

"Give Mr. Potter the adoption papers to sign." Fudge ordered the Matron, who jumped to obey.

 

Harry signed on the appropriate lines and watched as Fudge, his minion and the Matron signed the lines for the Ministry, Witness and Orphanage Director. With his copy firmly in hand, Harry turned to leave with Lily in tow. Just before he left Fudge's voice rang out.

 

"Now we won't hear anymore of this unpleasantness, will we?" 

 

"Yes you will. It's conditions like this in the Muggle world that spawned Voldemort. There's no way I can allow you to make another Dark Lord. This won't be the last you hear of this." Harry replied coldly and left the Matron's office with a muttered 'let's go' to the cat, who followed him out.

 

Harry stepped into the common room and saw all the kids waiting for them. Harry gave them all a bright smile.

 

"Nice work with the cat." Harry whispered to the children as he swung Lily up into his arms. "I'm going to send someone over. I'm sure she'll teach the Matron how to properly take care of children. 'Til we meet again."

 

Harry swept out of the orphanage and strode quickly through the streets until he reached Diagon Alley. Once there he made his way to Gringotts to make a withdrawal. He needed to outfit his daughter so she'd be presentable when she visited her Uncle Severus. He was barely through the second set of doors before he was intercepted.

 

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. Is there anything I can do for you?" The goblin asked.

 

"Hello, Griphook. I need to make a sizable withdrawal from my vault."

 

"Harr. Da…" Lily interrupted before Griphook could find another goblin to take him to his vault.

 

"You can call me 'Harry' until you're more comfortable with me. Okay?" At the girl's nod he continued. "What did you want to tell me?"

 

"The vault carts make me very ill." She said in a sheepish voice.

 

"That's all right, dear." Harry turned to Griphook. "Would you be able to send a goblin to my vault to make the withdrawal?" When Griphook nodded he handed the goblin his key and a large leather money bag, which Griphook gave to the next available guide.

 

"I see you now have custody of Ms. Malfoy, sir. Do you require access to her vaults? They are currently in the custody of someone else."

 

"That would be Professor Snape, correct?"

 

"Yes, Mr. Potter. He has done an admirable job of keeping the remaining Malfoy assets from the Ministry's coffers."

 

"Then I see no reason to remove them from his stewardship. Of course if the Ministry finds a means to wrest control of them from him, please inform me so I can take action." Harry told the goblin. "I don't require anything from her vaults since there's more than I could ever spend in my own."

 

"Very well, Mr. Potter. Sandnose will return shortly with your money. Have a good day, sir and congratulations to you both."

 

Harry didn't get a chance to say thank you to the goblin since he stalked off to deal with another customer, nor did he have to wait long for Sandnose to return with his leather money bag now filled with coins.

 

"Thank you for you help, Sandnose." Harry thanked the goblin as he was handed the pouch. The goblin was very surprised at the courtesy, as was every other goblin that had dealt with him in the past. 

 

"Will you need any money converted into pounds, sir?" Sandnose asked after getting over his surprise.

 

"No thank you. Have a good day, Sandnose." Harry bowed slightly after making sure he had a good grip on Lily.

 

Caught by surprise once again, Sandnose paused before returning the bow and the well wishes. Harry quickly left the bank and headed straight to the Leaky Cauldron. First thing he wanted to do is get her back treated and find slightly better clothes for her before shopping for robes and other necessary items. The best place for those first two tasks was the Burrow. Madam Pomfrey would be willing to come and tend to Lily's injuries there. Harry paid Tom for the use of the floo and immediately entered the flames after shouting out his destination. He held on tightly to Lily as they spun through the chimneys of dozens of fireplaces before being disgorged into Molly Weasley's kitchen. For the first time in his life he didn't tumble out of the flue. Instead he gracefully stepped out of the fireplace and looked about for Molly.

 

Harry sat Lily down at the table and ducked into the sitting room to see if the matriarch was knitting in the room. Not seeing any sign of her he fell back on the tried and true method of getting someone's attention at the Burrow.

 

" **Mum? Are you home?** " Harry shouted and received the thumping sound of someone descending the stairs.

 

"Harry dear, how nice to see you!" Molly Weasley said as she enveloped him in a hug, which he returned enthusiastically. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. How did that tour go?"

 

"Not as well as I hoped. Fudge seems to be determined to create another Voldemort." Harry told her grimly.

 

"Was it really that bad?" Molly asked with an angry look. "Do you have time for a spot of lunch? Then you can tell me what you found."

 

"Yes, I can stay and I brought someone for you to meet."

 

The two walked quickly into the kitchen. Lily hadn't budged an inch since he left the room. Molly's eyes widened in surprise at the small blonde girl sitting at her kitchen table as she paused and gave Harry a questioning look that demanded answers. There was no need to tell her the parentage of the child and Harry gave her a pointed look and tapped his own back before looking back at Lily. Molly's eyes took on that angry look that Harry was so familiar with, before she controlled her temper and smoothed the emotion from her face. Harry gently got Lily's attention and the girl stood quietly in front of him waiting to be introduced.

 

"Mum, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Lily. Lily, this is Molly Weasley, my mother in every way that counts."

 

"I'm pleased to meet you ma'am." Lily said looking like she was deciding whether she should curtsey or not.

 

"Welcome to the family, Lily." Molly replied and knelt down on the floor with her arms open, allowing Lily to decide whether to accept an embrace.

 

"Lily stepped slowly into Molly's opened arms and allowed herself to be embraced by the older woman. Molly frowned when she felt the girl's bones beneath the ragged robes.

 

"Harry dear, why don't you floo Madam Pomfrey and I'll see if I can find some of Ginny's old robes for Lily to borrow. There's no reason for her to go shopping in theses horrid things."

 

"All right, mum. Are you going to be okay, Lily?" Harry wanted to make sure she felt confident enough to go with Molly. 

 

"Yes, I think I will." Lily replied, a bit bewildered by Molly.

 

The two females made their way up the Burrow's stairs and Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder and knelt before the fire burning the hearth. He threw the powder into the fire and waited for the flames to turn green.

 

"Madam Pomfrey, Hospital Wing, Hogwarts," he shouted into the fire before sticking his head into the green flames. Harry called out loudly for the medi-witch, who didn't keep him waiting long.

 

"Harry? What's wrong, dear? Did you get hurt?" She immediately asked when she realized who it was.

 

"No. I'm alright, but I've someone here who needs your special touch."

 

"What's wrong? Tell me the symptoms." Poppy ordered briskly.

 

"Just bring everything you used on me the last summer I spent with my 'relatives'." Harry told her with a grim look on his face.

 

"Where are you?"

 

"I'm at the Burrow."

 

"I'll be there in five minutes." Poppy called over her shoulder as she raced to her supply cabinet.

 

"We'll be waiting for you." 

 

Harry pulled his head out of the fire in time to see Molly and Lily returning from their search of the attic. Molly had a robe in a pretty shade of blue draped over her arm.

 

"Lily wanted a bath before changing into the new robes. I thought it would be better if she did so after Poppy's seen her." Molly informed him.

 

"All right. We've got all afternoon to shop." Harry answered.

 

Moments later the fire turned green and Poppy stepped out of the hearth. She looked around and immediately focused on Lily. The young girl on the other hand didn't look too thrilled at the sight of the medi-witch and Harry noticed that she began to tremble.

 

"It's all right, Lily. This is Madam Pomfrey and she's the medi-witch at Hogwarts. She's patched me and your dad up so many times I think she's lost count. She won't hurt you, nor will she allow anyone to hurt you. Every potion she carries was made by your Uncle Severus." Harry knelt down and looked Lily right in the eyes as he reassured her and was rewarded by the cessation of the girl’s trembling.

 

"Now, young lady, come with me and Mrs. Weasley and we'll look you over." Poppy told the young girl and began to walk away without looking to see if Lily was following.

 

Lily slipped out of the chair she had returned to after her trip to the attic, but instead of following Poppy into the downstairs bedroom, she latched herself to Harry's leg. Poppy, who had already entered the room, turned when she didn't hear the additional footsteps of the person supposed to be following her. The medi-witch popped out of the bedroom when her patient wasn't right on her heels with a frown and the look on her face turned comical when she noticed who Lily was clinging to before trying to coax Lily onwards with little success.

 

"Please, come inside with me. We really need to examine you before you get sick." Poppy said patiently as she remembered she wasn't dealing with a teenager.

 

"Harry has to come too." Lily told the medi-witch.

 

"That's not appropriate. Your uncle wouldn't approve." Poppy admonished the young Malfoy.

 

"Poppy, perhaps you should let Harry in with you." Molly advised after noticing the look on Lily's face and remembered what that expression meant. After seven children she could identify the onset of a tantrum and knew that sometimes you had to pick your battles.

 

"Molly, technically I should be fire-calling Severus. He's her next of kin, but I know he's extremely busy with a Ministry commission. He wouldn't mind you filling in for him, Molly, but letting a male in with her will cause him to hit the roof. No Molly, it just won't do." Poppy told the Weasley matriarch, but Lily was waiting in the wings to blow Poppy's view of the world to pieces.

 

"But Harry's my new daddy."

 

Poppy froze in mid turn at Lily's declaration and turned slowly to face the new father. She stared at Harry as if he would give away whatever joke she thought he was playing on her. Harry stared her straight in the eye with the most serious expression in his arsenal; the one he once reserved for all things concerning Voldemort. Poppy's face went from stern to flabbergasted in two breaths when Harry's expression didn't alter.

 

"He's going to kill you." Poppy said with a grim look. "He was planning to go there today. He's going to have a fit and I'll end up having to treat him."

 

"He'd be in a worse mood if he found that I left her there after finding out how they 'cared' for her. Don't worry about telling him I've got her. I'd like to surprise him."

 

"He still may kill you for putting him through all that worry, Harry."

 

"No he won't, Madam, especially when he knows that if something happens to Harry the Ministry will send me back to the orphanage. He'll just make life difficult for Harry." Lily informed the medi-witch with a straight face.

 

Harry laughed at Poppy's reaction as did Molly. All three adults led the petite blonde into Molly's bedroom and both Molly and Harry stood back to let Poppy work. The medi-witch looked enraged whenever she wasn't directly in Lily's line of sight. As she examined the girl a Quick Quotes Quill wrote down her findings on parchment. After the notes were taken, she pulled out a camera and took multiple shots of Lily's injuries before healing the wounds with several healing charms. She then allowed Lily to dress again while she began pulling several potions from her bag and handed them to Lily one by one. Another spell showed that all the injuries were healed and she turned to Harry and Molly.

 

"Thankfully her injuries weren't as severe as yours were after your fifth year, Harry, though they would have become so given time. The evidence of prior beatings showed an increasing severity." Poppy told the two and Harry gathered Lily and held her tightly.

 

"What's being done about that place, Harry?" Molly asked him, worry for the other children very clear in her eyes. Harry noted Lily's surprise when she identified the emotion in Molly's eyes.

 

"The Ministry's doing nothing. Fudge showed up while I was trying to break Lily out, which is the reason I adopted her. If we want something done about the dump then we have to do it ourselves." Harry paused in thought for several minutes and then gave the two women a wicked smirk as an idea blossomed forth. "I suggest you two along with Bill's wife Fleur and Ginny invade the place. You both are forces to reckon with and adding Ginny and Fleur to the mix you'll be unstoppable. The kitchen is virtually non-existent and I know the kids aren't eating properly, Mum." Lily nodded in agreement and Molly turned and headed to her kitchen. They could hear the pots banging onto the stove as the maternal woman began cooking in earnest. "I don’t know what kind of medical care they had or should have. Marcus Flint, Jr. told me that rough treatment is a daily occurrence there."

 

"I'll gather some more supplies then. I'll arrange a meeting place with Molly. What's the address?" Poppy demanded while walking quickly to the Weasley's fireplace.

 

"It's the last address on this sheet." Harry handed the list he'd made to her after fishing it out of his pocket.

 

"I'll see you at Hogwarts. I want to see her in a week. Don't forget." Poppy called over her shoulder before throwing the floo powder into the fire. Moments later she was gone leaving Harry and Lily alone together.

 

"Well I do believe Mum mentioned you wanting to take a bath before changing. Since I know Mum doesn't like people in her kitchen while she's working, would you be alright taking one alone?"

 

"Yes, Harry, but I don't have any clean… you know." Lily said while trying to hide her embarrassment.

 

"I'll see what I can do while you're bathing. Let's go set up the tub. Okay?" Harry smiled as Lily nodded and he carried her up the stairs.

 

Harry quickly got everything ready and to the temperature Lily liked. He made sure she had fresh towels and told her to call for him if she needed anything. He returned to the kitchen and watched Molly work for several minutes before interrupting her with Lily's need.

 

"Mum, Lily mentioned that she needs clean undergarments." 

 

Molly was about to responded when the fire in the hearth flared and turned green. Seconds later Ginny stepped out holding a package. She brought it straight to her mother, without acknowledging that she had seen Harry.

 

"Mum, I've brought what you've asked for. Who's it for?" Ginny continued on without giving her mother a chance to answer. "I'm going to meet Fleur in a half hour where you told us to meet you and Madam Pomfrey."

 

"Thank you, Ginny dear. On your way to our rendezvous point, please stop and tell your father what's going on and where we're going to be."

 

"Okay Mum." Ginny replied and turned to leave again.

 

"Ginny, since you're going to be going to see your dad, would you stop by Ron's desk and give him a message from me?" Harry stopped her with a hand on her arm.

 

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry I didn't know you were here." Ginny apologized and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What's the message?"

 

"Tell Ron that 'the jewel is found'. He'll know what I mean." Harry smiled at the confused look on Ginny's face. "Thanks, Gin."

 

"Okay, I hope you're right. You know how thick Ron can be sometimes."

 

"He'll know what it means; he made the code up himself."

 

"I've got to get going if I'm going to be there on time. You'd better stop by again soon, Harry. See you soon, Mum!" Ginny disappeared in a flash of green fire as she flooed to the Leaky Cauldron.

 

"Harry, be a dear and watch the food. I'll take these up to Lily. I'm sure she doesn't want you to see her knickers." Molly said while gathering up both the package Ginny brought, and the robes she found in the attic before heading upstairs to check on Lily.

 

Lily came back into the kitchen, herded by Molly in full fussing mother mode. Once Molly had the blonde sitting at the table she went to the pots Harry was watching over, and began making plates for both Lily and Harry. After making sure both Harry and Lily were full she shooed them off so she could finish the cooking for the orphanage. Lily and Harry spent the rest of the afternoon at Madam Malkin's choosing robes and Muggle style clothes for the young Malfoy. Harry, for the first time in his life enjoyed shopping. Normally he was dragged everywhere by Hermione, Ginny or Luna while still at Hogwarts or by Molly during the summer holidays. Lily, thanks to her early years with her family, was able to tell which fabrics were the best and knew what spells to ask the seamstress to add to the clothes. She also knew what she wanted and didn't take up too much time browsing the racks. As a reward, not that he wasn't planning on stopping there anyway, Harry took the young witch to the only toy store in Diagon Alley. Her eyes widened in wonder as she wandered from shelf to shelf trying to figure out what she wanted most. Anything Harry noticed her eyes staying on the longest he signalled the store attendant following them to pack up for them. 

 

Lily took her time looking for something that Harry guessed would occupy her for a while before she'd ask for another toy; having no idea that Harry was buying more than the one thing for her. She stopped in front of a tall doll house. Her eyes looked longingly at it and Harry knew then that this was what she was looking for. The house was four doll size stories tall and came with a family of animated dolls, complete with three tiny house-elves. Like the Muggle version, you had to buy the furniture and accessories separately, but unlike the mundane version, the child chose the hair and eye colour of the dolls.

 

"Is this what you would like?" Harry asked the petite blonde.

 

"Yes, please. My papa bought me one when I was younger, but the Ministry took it when they took everything else." Lily said, a couple of tears rolling down her face at the memory.

 

"Then chose the furniture and stuff you want for the house."

 

The sales person took each of the accessories Lily chose and packed them up. Once Lily was done they walked to the front counter to pay. Lily's eyes widened in shock when she heard how much everything cost, though she didn't know about the extras he had purchased for her. Harry made arrangements for the toys to be delivered to Hogwarts via owls, which was the same arrangements he made for her clothes.

 

After their business at the toy store concluded, Harry led Lily to Flourish and Blotts. He had some books on order that he had to pick up and he knew the store had a huge selection of children's books.

 

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. The books you ordered are in." The clerk behind the counter told him.

 

"Great! I have a few more things to get, so would you keep them behind the counter until I'm ready to check out?" Harry asked as he reached over to grab a shopping cauldron.

 

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Let us know if we can help you with anything." The clerk informed him before turning to help another customer.

 

Harry led Lily to the children's section and let her loose to choose books for herself. She needed a little coaxing to pick out books and Harry guessed that she was thinking about how much she spent at the toy store.

 

"Don't worry about the money I'm spending. Do you remember what I told Griphook at the bank when he asked about your vault?"

 

"You said that you had more than you could possibly spend and didn't need anything from the vault papa left me." Lily replied, though doubt still lingered in her voice, as her eyes hungrily flickered from shelf to shelf. 

 

"I meant it. Now go, just make sure you keep in sight. I don't trust people to behave properly."

 

Lily ran to the nearest shelf and quickly pulled five books out of the case. She placed them in the cauldron before surveying the room again. Curious, Harry looked at the title of the first book and smiled.

 

"It used to drive Papa and Mama mad because I kept choosing those books for them to read." The look on her face clearly said that she expected the same from Harry.

 

"I'll let you in on a well-known fact in the wizarding world. I was raised by magic hating Muggles. I never got the chance to read any of these books, so it'll be a while before you drive me batty with any of these."

 

Lily smiled and began choosing more books, while Harry also browsed the section himself. He added several titles that he thought looked interesting and fun to him. As he looked at the story books on sale he kept a weathered eye on his charge and mused at how fast and easy it was for him to love the child. It was almost like Draco and Pansy had the child for him. Their shopping trip was marred by the sounds of angry voices. His heart stopped when he saw the people making the noise converging on Lily. She backed up as the people closed in on her muttering foul things about her parents and grandparents. Harry had already dropped the cauldron and was racing full tilt to Lily's side. 

 

Time seemed to slow and the distance between them widened as panic started to gain control of his mind. Rage snapped his mind out of its stupor and everything except time resumed their proper perspective when he saw a man in the front of the mob raise his hand to strike his daughter. Harry reached for his wand and felt his body shift into battle mode; he became hyper aware of everything around him. He paid no attention to the beetle flying away from him. Harry's vision narrowed to that hand raised to hit his child. He cast a cutting curse at the offending appendage and watched as it struck. Blood drifted slowly away from the wound and paper floated through the air from where the curse was finally stopped. The world returned to normal time as Lily screeched 'Daddy' and threw herself into his arms. The crowd turned towards him and the man he hit with the curse strode belligerently up to him.

 

"How dare y…" The man started, but Harry cut him off with a growl.

 

"No, how dare you! How dare you attack my daughter?" Harry bellowed. He could see Rita Skeeter scribbling furiously as the encounter played out. She was going to have a major layout in tomorrow's Prophet.

 

"She's a Death Eater. She doesn't deserve to run about free." A woman at the back shouted.

 

"She's a child. She was only three years old when I killed Voldemort." Harry bellowed at the crowd. "She isn't responsible for the actions of her relatives." Harry held Lily tightly to him and he gave an inward sigh of relief when he sighted Kingsley Shacklebolt with several other Aurors heading towards him. He rolled up the left sleeve of Lily's robe and showed the crowd. "See? There's no dark mark or the remains of one on her arm," he snarled. "Why don't you all roll up your left sleeves and show the nice Aurors your arms."

 

The crowd turned as one to face the Aurors and Kingsley stepped up to him to whisper in his ear.

 

"You'd better get out of here. Fudge is pitching a fit because you took the girl. The adoption papers went through quickly, which is another reason Fudge is acting like a three year old. Get back to Hogwarts now. Here's a portkey to the Shrieking Shack."

 

Harry nodded to the Auror and before activating the portkey he spotted Tonks. He waved the witch over when she caught his eye.

 

"Tonks, would you take care of paying for Lily's books?"

 

"Sure, Harry." The witch, who had neon blue hair today, answered. "Just give me a signed bank voucher so I can pay the cashier."

 

Harry signed one of the 'checks' that the goblins always placed in his money purse when he made a withdrawal and handed it to Tonks.

 

"I have a few books behind the counter that I ordered, so please make sure the clerk remembers to include them."

 

"No problem, Harry. You'd better get going." The witch waved good-bye to both of them as they touched the portkey.

 

With a tug around their navels they were gone.

* * *

Severus Snape was in a state that no one had ever seen him in. He was in a panic as he wrote down the list of people who owed him favours. He didn't want to leave a stone unturned. An hour earlier he had gone to the orphanage that housed his Goddaughter in an attempt to retrieve her from the derelict building, but when he got there she wasn't anywhere to be found. The bastards that ran the place insisted that they didn't know what happened to her. He rampaged through the building searching for hear until a bunch of Fudge's pet Aurors came to throw him out of the orphanage with a threat to arrest him the next time he showed up there.

 

What many people didn't know and would never suspect was that Severus was very attached to the young Malfoy girl. Their bond formed when she was just days old and colicky. She would scream and scream despite the best efforts of her parents to comfort her, but the minute Severus took her she'd stop and drift off to sleep. That pattern continued throughout her infancy. He only got to see her infrequently once his spying activities were discovered by the Dark Lord. Draco was very reluctant to leave her in his company and as a result Severus doted on the girl, not that he'd ever admit it to anyone.

 

Now she was missing and Severus knelt in front of his fireplace to call Kingsley Shacklebolt to see if the man had the time to help him find the child. Luckily the Auror was in and more than willing to join the search. He promised to check to see if any papers were filed recently, especially death certificates or adoption papers. Severus then contacted several acquaintances of the Malfoys to see if they had heard anything. It was those people that passed any news of Fudge's machinations to claim the Malfoy vaults to Severus. Thankfully he was able to keep that part of Lily's heritage away from the greedy man.

 

Several hours later he was half way through his list of contacts and deciding which of those remaining were the best able to help him. There was a knock on his door, which he ignored. Whoever was on the other side of his door rapped on the wood again.

 

"Go away! I'm busy!" Severus snarled to the unknown on the other side.

 

"This is important, Severus." The annoying sound of Potter's voice was clearly heard through the closed door to his office.

 

"Potter, anything you consider important rarely is. I have an urgent matter to attend to. Now go!" 

 

"Please open the door. This is important." Potter insisted.

 

Severus snarled to himself and strode to the door. He yanked it open, ready to verbally flay Potter for disturbing him. What caught his eye when the door opened derailed him completely.

 

"Hello, Uncle Severus." 

 

Severus was unable to say a word; a state that few have seen him in and he hoped that no one would again. It was bad enough that Potter saw him that way and he knew that not a living soul would hear about it from Potter's lips, which he thanked the powers that be for. Lily stood there with a smile plastered across her face, something that none of her relatives would ever have. He was also relieved that she was alive and well, though he didn't know why she was in Potter's company and he wasn't going to ask the man. He slowly looked up from the beaming Lily to the younger wizard. Potter was watching Lily with a smile on his face and when he felt Severus' eyes on him he looked up with the smile still firmly in place.

 

"I'll leave you two alone to catch up. If you want Lily to stay overnight let me know so I can send down her nightclothes and robes." Potter turned and left without waiting for a response from Severus. He turned and waved good-bye to Lily before jogging up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

 

Severus stood back to allow Lily to enter his office and once he locked the door and secured the room he swept the petite blonde into an embrace in a demonstration of emotion that no other living soul would see. Lily laughed as he swung her through the air before securing her to his hip. He brought her through the secreted door at the back of his office to his private quarters. He sat the young girl on his sofa before sitting next to her. 

 

"How is it you ended up in Potter's company? I had gone to the orphanage to make another attempt to break you out and found that you were no longer there." Severus allowed his fear for the child to show on his face, he was used to lowering his defences around her.

 

"Harry." Lily said firmly, making Severus' eye brows shoot up in surprise.

 

"Excuse me."

 

"His name is Harry and you'd better get used to calling him that." Lily stated in a hard voice.

 

"And why is that, young lady?" Severus may love the child more than life itself, but he wasn't going to stand for that tone from her.

 

"Harry adopted me." Lily said, staring directly into his eyes.

 

"Why would he do that? The entire staff knew I was trying to get custody of you!" Anger filled him at the thought that Potter was trying to take Lily from him. 

 

"He tried to just take me from there so he could bring me to you, but the Minister of Magic showed up telling him that he couldn't. The Minister said that you'd be training me up as a Death Eater or some other nonsense. I wasn't able to really focus on what was going on." 

 

"Why couldn't you pay attention?" Severus frowned as her adult-like demeanour shattered and she showed how young she was.

 

"They found out about Harry touring the orphanages. Marcus had been eavesdropping because that red-headed Auror was due for another visit and the older kids were hoping to leave something for him to find to let him know we were there. The Matron decided we needed another lesson in keeping quiet and she had one of the handymen beat me as an example to the rest. They were planning to lock us all in the cellar like before, but they didn't get the chance because Harry showed up dragging a Ministry Official behind him."

 

Severus had to grab hold of his temper before he left and killed someone. How dare they harm his Goddaughter! No he couldn't allow his anger free rein. It wouldn't help anything and right now Lily's well being meant more than revenge. Hopefully he'd be able to compete against Potter for Lily's affections. He didn't have the ready cash that Potter did so he'd have to find other ways to show the brat up. He looked up to see Lily frowning and staring into the fire.

 

"A knut for your thoughts." Severus said and Lily slowly looked at him.

 

"I was thinking. The orphanage's common room was full of kids, but Harry came straight to me. It was like he was searching for me." Lily's puzzlement was very clear. "Why would he look for me?"

 

"I don't know why, Lily. He and your father loathed each other when they were in school and to my knowledge they still did after they left." Severus wracked his brain for answers, but couldn't come up with a plausible reason for Potter's actions nor for Weasley's constant presence at the orphanage Lily was in. "I wouldn't worry about it. The important thing is you're out of there. Now did Potter..." Lily gave him a glare that reminded Severus of Narcissa when Lucius was on the verge of ruining one of her famed dinner parties. "Harry. Did Harry bother to take you to St. Mungo's to have your injuries tended to?"

 

"He brought me to 'the Burrow' and had Madam Pomfrey heal me. Her name is familiar. I remember Papa mentioning her."

 

"Madam Pomfrey is Hogwarts' mediwitch. Po…Harry was one of her most frequent patients. Myself being the second and Harry's pet werewolf a distant third."

 

"Oh, Madam Pomfrey wants to see me again for a check up in a week."

 

"I'll speak to her later. I wish there was something I could do to get back at those monsters."

 

"I think Harry is doing something. I know he sent his mum, the mediwitch and two other ladies to the orphanage."

 

"Ah, he sent Molly Weasley into battle. The Dark Lord was no match for her when her temper was roused. Too bad she wasn't the one destined to kill him, but she made him pay for killing her daughter-in-law and laying a finger on Po… Harry. Don't give her a reason to be mad at you, you'll regret it."

 

"I won't. I haven't a clue as to what to call her. Molly doesn't seem right and neither does Mrs. Weasley."

 

"Well for all intents and purposes you should call her Grandmum. She's the only mother P… Harry has known. His parents were killed not long after his first birthday. She'd be thrilled. I know she's been waiting impatiently for her first grandchild." Severus smiled at the imagined look on the older woman's face hearing that endearment for the first time. He had to admit that the woman had treated him like one of her children when he was out of commission and stuck at Grimmauld Place. She seemed to have a tendency to adopt strays. "Well enough of that. What would you like to do for the rest of the day?"

 

Severus didn't need to hear Lily's response. He was already on his feet and heading towards his closet. He pulled out two brooms and smiled at Lily's whoop of delight. Like her father, Lily lived for Quidditch and never passed up an opportunity to fly. Severus on the other hand didn't care for flying, but for her he'd leave the solid stable ground. The spent the rest of the late afternoon flying on the pitch. Before dinner they read together from one of the old battered books Draco left behind years ago. 

 

Dinner proved to be eventful when Lily upset the order of things by dragging him to sit somewhere other then his normal seat. Harry was already seated and the seats to his right were empty. Lily pulled him towards Harry and she sat in the chair next to her adoptive father, clearing expecting Severus to sit next to her, which he did. The staff already at the table stared in shock as he and Harry sat calmly without the usual flurry of barbs that normally flowed when they were within close quarters. Other then the stares from those gathered around the head table, dinner was going well and Severus and Harry acted as if their close proximity was a normal occurrence. Yes, everything was going well with Harry restraining Lily from over indulging on the richer foods and the gravy, reminding her quietly that since she wasn't used to them that they'd make her sick if she ate too much of them. That is until Rolanda decided to try and sneak sweets onto Lily's plate.

 

"Hooch, stop it. She can't have any of that until her dinner is finished!" Severus snapped, since Harry's attention was captured by the Headmaster, who had left his own seat to talk to the younger man.

 

Rolanda didn't seem to think that Severus had any say in the matter and placed another on the girl's plate. Severus was seething and he was ready to pull his wand to hex the woman when her hand got into range. He didn't have to do anything since Harry intervened. As Rolanda's hand travelled over Harry's plate with another of those sweets in her hand the younger wizard struck it with a butter knife. Rolanda looked at him in shock as he glared at her. Severus didn't bother hiding the snicker that the look on her face sent bubbling up.

 

"Which part of 'she can't have any of that' didn't you understand?" Harry barked at the flying instructor.

 

"Harry, I thought you adopted her." Rolanda said rubbing her hand and glaring at Severus, who was still snickering at her. 

 

"I did." Harry growled in response.

 

"Then you're the one to decide whether she can have something or not." Rolanda replied giving Severus a smug look.

 

"Severus is her godfather and has every right to keep you from doing something that'll make her sick. This isn't going to stay down." Harry held up the cream filled pastry Rolanda had put on her plate and promptly dumped the offending dessert onto Rolanda's plate. 

 

The rest of the table froze in shock once again and Severus wouldn't be surprised to see people looking up to see if the sky was falling. After all Severus and Harry just agreed on something and that's an event that no one at Hogwarts ever thought would happen. Severus was beginning to wonder what the brat was up to. Dinner finished without any more incidents and Severus returned to the dungeons with Lily. He ended up giving her an impromptu tour of the dungeons and then the rest of the castle. 

 

They returned to his lab so that he could gather the potions he had made for the Hospital Wing and once again he was distracted by Lily's questions. After she had extracted a promise from him for Potions lessons she allowed Severus to bring the potions upstairs while chattering to him about the welfare of the offspring of his former students she had lived with. A look out one of the windows showed him how late it was.

 

"It's bed time for you, Lily." Severus told the young witch.

 

"Awww. Do I have to?" Lily whined, though the smile on her face gave her mischief away.

 

"Yes." Severus told her and as she trotted out the door of the Hospital Wing he smiled at her back. "You'll have to stay with Harry tonight. I've been too busy trying to get you out of the orphanage to make sure that your room stayed clean." It was one of those times he wished he didn't forbid the house-elves from cleaning his rooms. 

 

"That's okay. I still have to sort through everything he bought me today." 

 

"I'm afraid to ask what he purchased for you."

 

"He bought me a new wardrobe from Madam Malkin's and a doll house exactly like the one Papa got me. Harry even purchased all the furniture for it. He insisted I pick out some books despite the amount of money he spent at the toy store." Lily's face darkened and Severus guessed that something less than pleasant happened there.

 

"What happened, Lily?" Severus stopped their forward progress and knelt so he was at her eye level. "Tell me." He insisted.

 

"While I was picking out the books I wanted, a large group of people came after me. They said a lot of bad stuff about Papa, Mama, Grandmother and Grandfather. They said I didn't deserve to be running around free and one tried to hit me. I knew that man though. He was one of Grandfather's frequent guests."

 

"And what did Potter do about it?" Severus snarled.

 

"Harry," Lily stressed her adoptive parent's name, "blew a hole through the man's hand, gave a huge speech and carried me away when the Aurors showed up. One of the Aurors told him that Fudge was angry and looking to cause trouble." Lily stopped her dialogue cold and became paler than she usually was.

 

"Now what's wrong?" Severus made a mental note to talk to the younger wizard when he had a free moment.

 

"I called him Daddy." She whispered, acting like she did something wrong.

 

"You're not betraying your father, Lily." Severus told her, believing every word himself, much to his surprise. "I also really doubt that Harry would be angry for you accepting him that quickly." Severus couldn't suppress the flare of jealousy at that thought. It should be him raising Lily not The-Boy-Who-Lived. 

 

He took Lily's hand and rose to his feet to lead her to Harry's quarters. She recognized the portrait guarding his door immediately and spoke the password that allowed her entrance to Harry's domain. Severus followed behind her and was surprised at the clean orderly room he found himself in. He would have expected piles of papers to be littered over every surface given the haphazard way the younger wizard's homework was presented to Severus. Most young men threw their clothes all over the place and even a diligent house-elf had difficulties keeping them off the floor. None of that was evident in Harry's sitting room. Severus followed Lily into what he believed was her room and like his goddaughter he stopped dumbfounded with the amount of boxes around the room waiting for her attention.

 

"I thought he only bought you a doll house?" Severus asked her as his eyes darted around the room.

 

"That's what she thought too." Harry said from behind them. Severus started a bit, but schooled all reaction from his face as he turned to face his competition. 

 

"Aren't you going overboard, Po…" Severus started to ask, but a heated glare from behind him made him change tracks quickly. There was no reason to antagonize Lily at this time. "Harry?"

 

Harry's eyebrow rose questioningly and he leaned forward to look around Severus at Lily, who was looking innocent, which didn't fool Harry one bit from what Severus could see. The younger man smiled knowingly at Lily and another flare of jealousy ran through Severus. Lily didn't see it, but Harry did when Severus unknowingly met his eyes in the mirror across the room.

 

"Get ready for bed, Lily. Your night clothes are in the dresser." Harry told her and dragged Severus from the room by his arm.

 

"Get your hand off of me." Severus hissed in a low voice to prevent Lily from hearing him.

 

"I don't know what's going through your head, Severus, but you had better stop. You're only going to hurt Lily if you make her a battlefield between us." Harry hissed after closing Lily's bedroom door.

 

"Think you can buy her affection, do you?" Severus snarled and advanced on Harry.

 

"I'm not trying to do that. All I did was give her what she had and still would have had if Fudge didn't have a grudge against the Malfoys. I gave her what you would have given her."

 

"I see you didn't give me the opportunity to do so." 

 

"You would have had to work day and night to purchase what you wanted to get her. Wouldn't you?"

 

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Severus hissed and right then he realized that Harry did know of his family's financial status. The Dark Lord loved to rub in the fact that Severus' father pissed away the family fortune and the last time he did was within hearing range of Harry during that last meeting between them.

 

"I see you remember when you were distracting Voldemort to allow me time to get into position."

 

"That doesn't mean anything."

 

"Yes it does. Every time Albus forced us to work together you'd say your time was precious and that I was wasting it. Now what do you think Lily would rather do, spend time with you or sit around bored because you were working all the time?"

 

Severus was surprised at the thought Harry had put into the whole situation. Severus spared a moment of thought to wonder what Draco would make of this circus. He wondered what Harry would say if he asked, so he did.

 

"What do you think Draco would make of this?" Severus waited patiently to see if Harry would let his old feud with Draco die.

 

"Not as big of a stink as we would have thought." Harry answered and walked to his desk set under the window. He muttered something under his breath and the bottom left hand drawer opened up for Harry to remove something from within it. Harry handed him an envelope with the Malfoy crest embossed on it.

 

Severus slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the snowy white parchment that Lucius favoured because of its cost. He was surprised to see Draco's handwriting on the letter within. Severus snorted in amusement as he read the greeting and the first line of Draco's letter to Harry.

 

_Hey Scarhead,_

_I bet you never thought to see a letter from me, now did you? Obviously you've just been gifted with a bundle of joy by the name of Lily Malfoy and are now suffering from either shock or a concussion. Sorry, Potter, but it's not a mistake. If Pansy and I are dead she would have been sent to live with Severus, but something must have happened to him too, which is why you've received this letter. I wrote you into my will because I wanted someone who wouldn't treat her poorly because of my actions in the past. You've already been subject to that despite the fact that you're nothing like your father. I know that you know better than to judge Lily because of the bad blood between us in the past._

_Severus left Lily everything that was left to him. He also left specific instructions for the disposal of his family lands and the vast stores of potion ingredients. I enclosed a copy of his letter to us along with the copy of my will and Pansy's. I do ask for one specific thing from you concerning Lily. Adopt her. Give her your name because I know mine won't be worth a clipped nut when the Dark Lord's gone. I have to laugh at this whole scenario playing out in my head. She'll be Lily Potter. I swear Pansy and I ended up having a child destined for you. The universe is a strange, strange place with a horrible sense of humour. Enjoy fatherhood, Potter._

_Slinky_

 

"Slinky?" Severus questioned the green-eyed man staring into the fireplace.

 

"I'll have to explain that later. I'm expecting my solicitor to arrive."

 

"Changing your will?"

 

"I already did that. I'm going to sue the Minster and Ministry."

 

Severus stared wide eyed at Harry. He played that last sentence in his head several times to make sure he heard it right before commenting.

 

"Are you suicidal?" 

 

"No. I'm within my rights. Even if they 'decided' that you were unfit to raise her then she should have been placed with me immediately instead of being carted off to an orphanage. They totally ignored the inheritance laws that are the foundation of our world's culture."

 

"Someone finally bothered to explain all that to you?"

 

"Yeah, Zabini did and I needed a translator to understand it all." Harry replied with a self-deprecating smile on his face.

 

"You had better have one hell of a solicitor. Otherwise the Ministry is going to eat you alive."

 

"I think you'll be impressed with him."

 

"Really? Who did you hire?"

 

"Rasputin Gregorovitch."

 

"I'm impressed. He usually doesn't take new clients without a huge mound of references."

 

"Gringotts set it up for me." Harry replied with a shrug. "I've been on good terms with the Goblins ever since I warned them a couple of times about Voldemort's plans for them. They're the reason I managed to escape my relatives."

 

Severus shuddered at the memory of Harry's condition when they picked up the then sixteen year old Harry from the most secure rooms at the bank. It wasn't a pretty sight at all. He was distracted from his thoughts when Harry's floo activated and Rasputin Gregorovitch stepped out of the green flames.

 

"Harry, good to see you again."

 

"Rasputin, thanks for coming on such short notice. This is Severus Snape, Lily's godfather."

 

"Professor Snape, I'm pleased to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from my younger brothers and sisters."

 

"Indeed." Severus responded in a tone that indicated he knew exactly what the other man's relations had really said about him.

 

"Harry, what is it you wanted me to see?"

 

"Severus, would you give Rasputin the letter and papers you just looked at?" Harry asked and Severus handed the letter and wills to the solicitor.

 

Gregorovitch read through the letter and the Malfoys’ wills as well as Severus' before turning to Harry. His question was plainly seen in the man's eyes.

 

"I want to sue the Ministry and Fudge."

 

"The child endangerment charges aren't enough for you?"

 

"It doesn't give Lily her family heritage back now, does it?"

 

"What do you mean? I'm out of the loop concerning the Death Eater trials."

 

"What Mr. Potter is trying to say is the Ministry ignored the Inheritance Laws and confiscated the estates of both the suspected and actual Death Eaters. I can almost guarantee that they took everything but the vaults at Gringotts."

 

"We'll you do have a case, Harry. Especially since they ignored the Malfoys’ wills entirely. Their daughter shouldn't have been placed in an orphanage to begin with. Let me draw up the papers since I'm here." Gregorovitch made his way to Harry's desk and pulled a small stack of parchment out of his briefcase. The stocky dark haired man also pulled out a Never Out Quill and with a speed born of years of practice filled out the six forms required. When Harry signed opposite the solicitor's signature the papers duplicated five times. Two sets went straight to the Ministry, one went into Gregorovitch's briefcase, one to Harry and the last Gregorovitch held on to in order to deliver it to Fudge. Severus expected the man to ask to use the owlry and when he didn't the Potions Master became very curious.

 

"Not going to owl it to Fudge?" Severus asked in a neutral voice.

 

"I want to personally hand the summons to Fudge. I want to see the look on his face when he reads it." Gregorovitch had a malicious gleam in his eyes and Severus deduced that there was no love lost between Gregorovitch and Fudge.

 

"Well you'll have the opportunity tonight then." A new voice entered the conversation.

 

"And why is that, Professor Dumbledore?" Gregorovitch asked with a frown.

 

"The Minister is arriving in a matter of moments." 

 

"Why is he here, Albus?" Severus snarled in disgust.

 

"He's upset with Harry again. I feel the invasion of Weasleys into the orphanage has set him on edge." Albus replied with a twinkle.

 

"I told him I wouldn't let the matter go." Harry snapped, anger very visible in his eyes.

 

"I do believe he's trying to take the new addition to our family away." Albus continued as if he wasn't interrupted.

 

"If he tries we'll be looking for a new Minister." Harry snarled. He then walked to Lily's door, knocked and then ducked his head into the room. Severus couldn't hear what he said, but few minutes later Lily exited her bedroom in dress robes.

 

Harry headed into his own room to come out a minute or so later in his own dress robes. Severus didn't feel the need to bother since the Minister was going to over look him no matter what he was wearing.

 

"I see Lily and Harry are ready to go. Shall we all head to my office?" Albus replied with that twinkle still going madly. 

 

The Headmaster turned and headed out the door and Gregorovitch followed close behind the elderly wizard. Lily grabbed hold of Severus' hand and reached out for Harry's after they left the younger man's rooms. The three of them trailed behind the Headmaster listening to the two older men's conversation as they warily approached the old man's office. The trip up the stairs was made in silence and Lily began to tremble the closer they got to Albus' office door. Fudge was already waiting with several Aurors in attendance, one of which was Ron Weasley. Lily was firmly entrenched between Severus and Harry on the small sofa Albus conjured for their benefit. Fudge paled when he noticed Gregorovitch standing next to Harry whispering over some of the alterations the younger man made to his will.

 

"Mr. Potter you removed Ms. Malfoy from Ministry property illegally." Fudge gathered his courage to say.

 

"I beg to differ, Minister. You signed the adoption forms and it was witnessed by a member of the Ministry as well as the Matron of the orphanage." Gregorovitch countered and pulled a copy of the papers, holding them so the Aurors surrounding Fudge could see the signatures.

 

"I'm rescinding my approval."

 

"I'm sorry, Minister, but you can't do that." Gregorovitch countered once again. "And do not say that you were coerced into signing for I have an eyewitness that says you weren't."

 

Fudge fumed and then exploded at Harry, which made Lily flinch in fear. She hid her face against Severus' side and the older wizard noticed that she didn't relinquish her death grip on Harry's hand.

 

"You couldn't leave well enough alone. Why did you insist on finding that piece of filth?" Fudge spat and cringed at the dual glares he received from Severus and Harry.

 

"You should have obeyed the Inheritance Laws, Fudge." Gregorovitch re-entered the conversation and handed Fudge the summons.

 

Severus sat back and watched Fudge turn all sort of interesting shades of purple as he read through the papers. It took the bungling fool several very long minutes to inhale enough air to speak.

 

"Why, Potter? Why would you go through all this for an enemy's child? Anyone else would have left the child to die and gloat about it."

 

"Haven't you figured it out by now that I'm not everyone else?" Harry replied mildly.

 

"Why save the child of a Death Eater, a murderer?" Fudge roared. 

 

Severus would have yelled in response, but someone else beat him to Draco's defence and it was the last person he would have expected.

 

"He wasn't a murderer." Ron Weasley yelled right into the Minister's face.

 

"You didn't see the bodies, Weasley." Fudge shouted back and Severus was waiting as patiently as he could for the reason Weasley, of all people, was defending his godson and why Harry was sitting much too calmly, waiting. He didn't have long to wait for his answers.

 

"You never did give the victims autopsies. If you had bothered you would have found out that they ingested poison and it was voluntary."

 

The room went deathly silent as shock rippled through them. Severus noted that everyone was frozen in place with exception of Weasley and Potter. Even Gregorovitch was waiting with baited breath for Harry's explanation.

 

"Draco Malfoy was a spy. My spy. After his daughter was born he had an epiphany and realized how poor a choice he made. He came to me when he understood that Voldemort's promises were empty. He didn't trust the Headmaster and didn't know that Severus was already a spy. He trusted me to take care of him at the end of the war. I passed the information he gathered off as my visions to keep his cover. Draco would either pass on his orders from Voldemort or from spying on his father's gatherings."

 

"Before Voldemort found out I was a spy, I had never seen Draco at Lucius' little parties." Severus responded trying desperately to fit the pieces together. "Why did he sign his letter Slinky?" For some reason he felt the answer to that question was important.

 

"Slinky was what we called his animagus form. He was a ferret and would hide under the furniture during the gatherings to listen in."

 

"He was an illegal animagus and a murderer." Fudge jumped on that bit of information.

 

"No, if you remember Fudge, you allowed Professor McGonagall to teach Ron, Hermione and I the animagus transformation and had us sign a form promising that we would register the moment Voldemort was dead. I signed Draco's name before we mailed it to be filed. The people that you accused Draco of murdering chose to take poison in order to save their children." Harry told his captive audience and Fudge looked like he was going to protest, but Harry wouldn't let him get a word in. "The bodies of the children were transfigured animals the centaurs captured and killed for us. You'll find all those children with their remaining living relatives have been relocated to the United States, Canada or Australia, thanks to people those countries sent to help us."

 

The entire room was silent and Severus just wanted to leave so he could react in private. He had mourned the fact that he couldn't dissuade Draco from joining the Dark Lord, and now he could only feel pride that the young man turned away on his own. 

 

"Who killed Malfoy then?" Fudge spat.

 

"His father did. I still don't know how he got by me." Weasley answered in self-reproach.

 

"What do you mean Weasley?" One of the Aurors asked.

 

"I was covering him as he was picking off Voldemort's bodyguards so Harry could get to him. Lucius Malfoy managed to get between us and kill Draco. I barely got the older man before he apparated away." Weasley answered his superior. 

 

"Not that any of that matters, Minister. You wilfully disregarded the late Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy's wishes that their daughter be placed in Professor Snape's custody in the event of their deaths. Nor did you place her in the hands of their alternate choice of guardian. You shall not harass or speak to my clients until the court date, which you should receive via owl in the morning." Gregorovitch stepped into the conversation and dismissed Fudge from their presence.

 

Fudge left in a huff with the Aurors trailing behind him. Weasley stayed long enough to say good-bye before racing after his co-workers. After walking back to Harry's room and tucking Lily into bed, Severus retreated to his dungeons to truly mourn his godson for the first time since the younger man's death. He felt like he failed Draco when the young wizard was marked and didn't believe that he deserved to mourn the boy because of that perceived failure.

 

After that incident with Fudge, life at Hogwarts settled down into a new and soothing routine. Severus spent more and more time in Harry's company, much it at the insistence of Lily, who wanted her family together. As the school year started and Halloween rolled around, his preconceived notions about Harry fell away and he found himself staying in Harry's quarters to talk or debate, depending upon the subject, long after Lily fell asleep. When Lily began to refer to Harry as Daddy he didn't feel that pang of jealousy he expected. Eventually it occurred to him that he had fallen in love with the green-eyed wizard without realizing it. He tried to see if Harry had developed any feelings for him, but failed to notice any, and had to admit that he didn't truly know what to look for.

 

October melted into November and Severus was slowly becoming more and more depressed. As he became self absorbed in his misery he didn't notice the looks of concern and alarm coming from Harry. Severus never noticed how Harry would hover indecisively near him looking as if he wanted to say something before dejectedly leaving as silently as he arrived. So distracted the two men were that they didn't notice the gleeful and calculating look on Lily's face each time she observed them together. All she needed was the opportunity to put a plan into play, and little did Severus know that he handed her the perfect vehicle for her plan, wrapped in garish orange robes.

* * *

It was the last week in November and Severus had dropped Lily off at the Headmaster's office so that he and Harry could shop for Christmas presents for the petite blonde. Lily amused herself for a while by talking to the portraits of the former Headmasters and Mistresses. When Grandpa Albus finished his correspondence, they spent the late morning and early afternoon playing various games, both wizarding and Muggle. Lily enjoyed those hours she got to spend with the elderly wizard since he always knew how to have fun. Ever since her health had improved, he could be counted on to have her favourite treats stashed about his office. All she had to do now was wait for an opening to put her plan into motion. She wasn't disappointed the elderly man gave her a huge one to work with.

 

It was during tea time that Grandpa Albus gave her that opportunity to get what she wanted. Grandma Minnie had joined them and they were all chatting about school gossip before Grandpa walked into her scheme.

 

"Now Lily, is there anything extra special you'd like for Christmas?" Grandpa asked and Lily put on her best innocent face.

 

"Yes, but I don't want to ask for it. Every time Papa asked me that and I told him I didn't get it. So I stopped asking for those special things. It hurt too much not to get them." Lily responded in false sadness, which fooled the old man, but not her Grandma, who was managing to keep as straight of a face as she could.

 

"Is it that special then?" Grandpa walked blithely deeper into her trap.

 

"It's the most special thing I ever wanted." Lily said making her face assume a dreamy look. She mentally thanked Papa for all those earlier lessons she never understood or knew the importance of.

 

"Well if you tell me, I promise to get it." 

 

Grandma looked ready to fall out of the chair in laughter and was barely keeping her mirth in. Lily assumed a ‘woe-is-me’ look before answering Grandpa.

 

"Papa promised me lots of times and he couldn't deliver." 

 

"I swear on my wand that I will get what you ask for. Anything is possible if you know how to go about it." Grandpa had put his hand on his wand as he promised and Lily gave him an evil grin in triumph, which startled him a lot. Grandma on the other hand lost her battle against her mirth and broke out laughing while saying she wished she had a camera.

 

"I want Severus as my father." Lily told the stunned wizard.

 

"Are you and Harry having problems?" He asked while trying to figure out what happened. Lily guessed that he rarely was outmanoeuvred.

 

"No." 

 

"Then why don't you want Harry anymore?" Grandpa asked and Lily wondered what he didn't understand. She was told that Grandpa always seemed to know what was going on in the school. How could he not notice what was going on between her Uncle and Daddy?

 

"I didn't say that. I want Uncle Severus and Daddy to get together. They like each other, but they don't realize that the other feels the same way. I want to set them up."

 

"I see the Malfoys teach their children young." Grandma quipped as Grandpa floundered a bit. 

 

"Really? They do? And I didn't notice. Well I'll have to do something about it." He glanced at Grandma a moment before speaking again. "Don't laugh, Minerva, you're going to help, as are you young lady." 

 

"Do you have an idea, Grandpa?"

 

"Yes I do, as a matter of fact. Severus is stubborn and the one thing he trusts above all else is his potions. We're going to lace their evening drinks with Veritaserum. Severus and Harry will notice when the potion hits their bloodstream what it is. That and a batch of Filius' enchanted mistletoe will be all we need."

 

The three gathered around and worked out the plan to set the two oblivious men up. Their plan would go into effect on Christmas Eve. It took a lot of manoeuvring to get the two men into place, but they managed. Minerva had snatched two of the mistletoe balls while patrolling the halls in her feline form and Lily let the headmaster into Severus' rooms so he could spike all the drinks Severus had in his cabinet. Lily was to release the mistletoe before she went to bed that night. Albus even got the house-elves to help ordering them to lace any tea Severus may order with the truth serum. Once everything was in place they all sat back to wait.

* * *

Severus and Harry had just finished dragging the gifts Harry bought for Lily down into the dungeons and they both dropped to the sofa in exhaustion. Lily was asleep and they had the rest of the evening to themselves. They didn't notice the mistletoe hovering about waiting for their chance to create mayhem, or embarrassment. They sat in a comfortable silence though each man looked like they wanted to say something, but couldn't get the nerve to open their mouths. Severus got up after another few moments and poured two glasses of fire whiskey. While Severus was pouring the drinks, Harry had gotten to his feet to pace. Then one of the balls of mistletoe decided to strike while the other one backed off. Harry ended up frozen into place when Severus turned around to offer him a glass.

 

"What's wrong, Harry?" Severus asked when Harry didn't close the distance between them. Harry's response was to point to the ceiling. "Damn, how did that get in here?"

 

While Severus was staring in aggravation at the mistletoe he didn't notice that it was hovering closer to him, dragging Harry along with it until he too was caught with in the spelled confines of the mistletoe. He sighed and handed Harry the glass he was holding and downed the one he poured for himself. 

 

"Need a stiff drink before doing the unthinkable?" Harry asked bitterly before swallowing his own drink.

 

"No, no I don't. I've wanted to do this for a while now." Severus told him, and his eyes widened in shock knowing that he didn't want to say that out loud. Harry was looking at him with wide eyes and Severus saw a glimmer of hope in their depths. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

 

"Yes." Harry answered and Severus saw that faint hope grow brighter in the younger man's eyes.

 

Severus wondered how he could have missed how Harry felt. Normally he could read the younger man like a book since he didn't bother to hide his emotions unless it was against a known foe. Either he didn't recognize it or didn't want to in fear, but either way he wasn't going to let his chance get away.

 

Severus leaned over and gently kissed the slightly shorter man. The shock of contact thrilled him to no end and the chaste kiss quickly became heated. The ball of mistletoe released the two men and wandered off to another part of the room, not that either man noticed since they were too absorbed into the other. Severus nibbled on the younger man's lips until they parted to allow him to explore the damp cavern behind them. Their tongues danced in each other's mouths and they slowly slid to the floor. Much too soon for Severus' liking, his body insisted it needed air and he broke away panting. Harry wasn't in any better shape as he ran his hands up and down Severus' chest. Severus shivered at the contact especially when the other man's fingers brushed against his nipples. He wanted Harry so badly, but knew that they didn't have much time before Lily woke up to wrap her presents. The clock on Severus' mantle read 2 am and he sighed.

 

"We should continue this later." Severus whispered as he ran his hand through Harry's hair.

 

"We won't get a better chance than this. Lily will be bouncing off the walls by with all the sugar she'll be consuming all day." Harry said while timidly nibbling on Severus’ earlobe.

 

"If you really want to do this now we had better take it to my bedroom. I can just picture us giving Albus a show. The man has the worst timing imaginable."

 

"That he does. Then let's move and hope Lily doesn't decide that she's slept enough." 

 

"Indeed." Severus got to his feet and pulled Harry to his feet. 

 

The two men made their way silently across the sitting room to Severus' room where the older man cast several privacy and locking charms. Not a sound would escape the room. Now hopefully the young lady awaiting Christmas would stay asleep for a few hours more.

 

Once safety ensconced in the room away from prying eyes or voyeuristic Headmasters, Severus returned for another taste of the younger man's mouth. Mint and honey flavour met his questing tongue as he once again explored newly found terrain. Their hands roamed and each began to slowly undo the other's clothing. Soon the soft sound of fabric sliding to the floor could be heard along with the heavy breathing of the entwined men. Restrictive clothing now gone, hands wandered every-where their owners could reach and Severus slowly backed Harry towards the bed until the younger man fell upon it with a startled whoosh. Harry took the opportunity to let his eyes wander over Severus' pale flesh with an appreciative smile upon his face. Severus was pale and scarred, but very fit. He couldn't help thinking that running to prevent flying cauldrons kept the man extremely fit. The thick trail of black hair that ran from Severus' sternum naturally led the eye straight to the man's long, thin and purple cock.

 

"You're beautiful, Severus." Harry whispered as he scooted back onto the bed and held his arms open wide for the black-eyed man to fall into.

 

"You have a very perverse idea of beauty, Harry." Severus answered as he slid into that welcoming embrace. "You should look in the mirror in the morning." 

 

Severus gave Harry a short kiss on the lips before moving on to new territory. Each new place he explored drew a low gasp or moan from Harry's throat. He explored the younger man's nipples and found that the left was far more sensitive than the right. He worked his way down following the very faint trail of hair to Harry’s erect member. He barely flicked the weeping slit with his tongue when Harry stopped him.

 

"No. I want you to be inside me when I cum." Harry said, his eyes nearly black with arousal.

 

"Are you sure? Perhaps you'd like it the other way around?" Severus asked, the sudden need to feel Harry in him raced through his blood steam.

 

"I'm sure. This is the way my fantasies ran at night." Harry blushed when his response poured unwillingly out of his mouth.

 

"Then we'll play your way. Tomorrow we play my way." Severus purred before reaching for something suitable for lubrication. Frustrated with the lack of one, he resorted to using the spell he was taught by his housemates way back when. 

 

Slowly he pushed in using short thrusts to work his way deeper into the willing flesh beneath him. It felt like eternity before he was completely buried in Harry's channel and it was the most perfect thing he'd felt in his life. Once he calmed himself, he slowly moved. He kept the pace as slow as he dared, and Harry squirmed and whimpered beneath him. Their mouths met again for another heated and wet kiss. Through no thought of his own their pace moved faster; he adjusted his angle searching for Harry's sweet spot and when he found it, Harry cried out with his eyes tightly shut as the pleasure raced along his nerves. Quicker and quicker they moved together until his now constant stimulation of Harry's gland pushed the younger man over the edge. Harry came with a surprised scream that sounded like 'Severus' and unconsciously tightened around Severus' shaft as tightly as a binding charm. Severus managed another thrust or two before he too succumbed to bliss and moaned Harry's name into the dimly lit room.

 

He collapsed onto the slighter man for a few moments while he gathered his scattered wits back into some semblance of order and slowly withdrew from Harry. Severus lay down on his side and gathered the senseless Harry into his arms. Harry's breathing slowed and Severus thought he had fallen asleep, but when he looked down he met brilliant emerald eyes looking back at him. They lost themselves in each other's eyes for the longest time.

 

"I love you," they said in unison. Severus smiled down on who he considered the find of a lifetime and he had no intention of letting the younger man go. From the look on Harry's face, Severus guessed that Harry wasn't willing to let go either.

 

"Should we share your rooms or mine?" Severus asked as he fought off sleep a little longer.

 

"How about we meet in the middle?" Harry responded with a yawn. "Even better how about we sleep on it and discuss it later?"

 

"Sounds good to me."

 

The only sound now heard was the steady breathing of the two men neatly entwined with the other. So soundly they slept over the remaining few hours of the night that they never heard the bedroom door. Standing in the door way was Albus and Minerva, who smiled and backed out of the room to head off the soon to be awake Lily in the next room. Harry and Severus woke several hours later, much later then they had planned. The house-elves had brought down a change of Harry's clothing and the two men showered and barely restrained themselves from a repeat performance of the night before as they did so. As they dressed, Harry looked at him thoughtfully. When Severus gave him a questioning look Harry spoke.

 

"The Gryffin has gotten away from the Serpent." 

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"Sorry. I forgot you didn't know. I was nearly sorted into Slytherin, but I managed to talk the hat out of that so it put me in Gryffindor. The past few years I learned to use the inner serpent and it usually keeps a stranglehold on my Gryffindor tendencies, but those traits wiggled free."

 

"And what Gryffindorish thing are you contemplating?"

 

"Will you bond with me?" Harry asked, but paled at the lack of response. "Too soon?" He whispered.

 

"I'm surprised that you're so sure that you want to."

 

"We're practically a family already. It's just making it official." Harry said quietly. Neither man was aware of the amplifying charm that broadcasted their conversation to the three in the sitting room.

 

"I see your point, and my answer is yes."

 

Both Harry and Severus leapt in surprise at the whoop of joy in the other room. When they entered the other room they saw Minerva sitting on one of the armchairs with a smile on her face and Lily on Albus' lap, her arms around his neck and chanting 'Thank you Grandpa, thank you" over and over.

 

"Albus, what did you get her?" Harry asked, with a feeling of dread as he looked around for the gift that would obviously drive them nuts.

 

"Don't worry, Harry. It isn't anything lying around the living room." Minerva answered with a chuckle. Albus was still caught in a stranglehold by Lily and wasn't able to answer right away.

 

"Lily's Christmas wish was for her family to be complete. I just helped it along." Albus said, and Severus glared at him.

 

"So you were the reason why Veritaserum was in my fire whiskey? And that damn mistletoe too!"

 

"I had some help." 

 

"What Albus is neglecting to tell you is that he was outmanoeuvred by a seven year old. She had him completely wrapped around her finger until he made a wizard's promise on his wand." Minerva helpfully added.

 

"Lily?" Harry said with a meaningful look. "Explain."

 

"I wanted Severus as my father. I noticed the way you two were looking at each other and decided you needed some help. So I arranged for the help." Lily said with a smug smile. "Papa always said that I could have whatever I wanted because 'What a Malfoy wants, a Malfoy gets.'" Lily paused and looked thoughtfully at Albus.

 

"What is it little serpent?" Albus asked with a twinkle, though he hoped she wasn't going to ask him to produce a little brother or sister for her.

 

"Grandpa, I want a hippopotamus for Christmas next year!"

 

*fin*


End file.
